Welcome! A blog, run by Jennifer Abell, Member of the Charles County Board of Education, involving topics and issues on education and children. Comments are not official communications of the Charles County School Board but are a personal effort to be more transparent. Both complimentary comments and constructive criticism are not only appreciated but encouraged.
Student participation is also encouraged and therefore the use of proper language and decorum is requested at all times.

Education Matters!

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SCHOOL RELATED INCIDENTS

Events listed below are reported to me by the general public and are NOT obtained through my position as a board of education member. Report an incident HERE or 301-659-4112, include school, date, and incident (no names)

Friday, November 30, 2007

EXCERPTThe latest results from an international reading assessment were released today showing that U.S. fourth graders continue to perform well compared to their peers in other countries. The test—Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)—further shows that U.S. performance is relatively unchanged from the last administration of the test in 2001. The 2006 PIRLS was administered to thirty-eight countries, five Canadian provinces, and two samples in Belgium in Flemish and French.

The televised Legislative Breakfast will be replayed on Channel 96 on Wednesdays at 9:00 am and Sundays at 2:00 pm for your viewing enjoyment :)

The below notes are my personal notes and are not intended to be all-inclusive or official minutes for the Board of Education meetings and are provided as a request from my supporters and the general public in a personal effort to be more transparent. Although I have diligently tried to make these notes as unbiased and accurate as possible, I am only human and do make mistakes. Please follow-up for official minutes upon approval. For copies of printed reports presented visit Board Docs.

Levy - Comes up every year. Supports. Baltimore City & PG against because rehires will not want to work in difficult systems

Richmond - education issues and taxes clarification

Levy - Thorton funding adjusted/delayed. Governor proposed $200M reduction. Changes to $149M. Still a lot of challenges with education funding especially school construction. Over the long term these actions will build a strong foundation.

Middleton - growing concern on disparity across the state of teacher retirement

Cooper - fiscal impact on school system?

Richmond - has numbers but haven't looked at overall impact. Concerned about opening new elementary school

Balides - enrollment went flat this year. funding formula based on enrollment. New numbers in December

Middleton - Annapolis aware. It is a state issue. Some jurisdictions actually lost.

Richmond - need extra help with future growth anticipation

Levy - Maryland dealing with overage of debt from years. Can't borrow more. No new commitments on capital construction. Amount is set. 2013 should be lifted. Slots should generate funds

Richmond - thank you but operating and capital cost needs to be balanced

Middleton - population projections need to be looked at

Pedersen - plan for 5-10 years out of Thorton. Funds are in jeopardy. Already one high school behind. Growing counties given special consideration?

Levy - Can get us those numbers. Pot of funds can be redistributed. larger jurisdictions with shrinking enrollment will not go for this redistribution

Middleton - Thorton should be fully implemented in 3 years

Levy - Thorton formula will be revisited in 2011 for impact

Carrington - hats off for making the tough decisions. We are flat now but when we had the growth we didn't get the extra funding. Still one high school behind

Wade - Shortage of teachers. Amazed that federal and state laws require highly qualified teachers yet the state isn't producing them

Hettel - state produces approximately 5,000 per teachers per year and need is 10,000-11,000. Recruit from further away. Cost of living. Increased salaries and compressed pay scale to stay competitive. Used to have good scholarship programs in the state that went by the way side. CSM very supportive. Teacher recruitment and retention problem is compounding.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Starting tomorrow, officers from the Charles County Sheriff's Office will be working with the school resource officers to check for seat belt use and the number of passengers in each student's car. If a student is found in violation of the driving laws, tickets will be issued. The officers will no longer give warnings. Police will report all tickets to the school as well as to parents. Students receiving citations may have their parking privileges and permission to drive to school revoked or suspended. Parents driving students to school will also be monitored for seat belt usage.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Check out this cool blog Municipalist about the potential and power of blogging government officials including their trials, tribulations, and triumphs. Yours truly was even featured yesterday, November 27th. It's quite interesting to see other government officials blog sites and what they are saying. It's also quite exciting to watch the wave swell. Enjoy!

Seat belts offer protection against injuries in rollover or side impact crashes;

Seat belt usage in school buses has a carryover effect to future use when riding in other vehicles;

The cost to install seat belts is nominal.

Meanwhile, opponents of 2-point seat belts in large school buses contend otherwise.

More children are killed in the danger zone around the school bus and as pedestrians walking to and from the school bus stop, than inside the school bus. Seat belts are of no value in these accidents;There is no data to show that seat belts would reduce fatalities or injuries;

Fatalities inside school buses represent a very small percent of all school bus fatalities;

Over the past two decades compartmentalization has demonstrated it works;

The carryover value is negligible, in fact there is no proof of carryover value;

Money proposed for seat belt installation would be better spent on other safety measures.

The bottom line, say opponents, is there are no data to show that a safety problem exists in school buses that would be solved by the installation of lap belts.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Just found out today that the APFO (Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance or in laymans terms...formula for allocating school seats) Joint Committee (Commissioners and Board of Education) will be briefing the commissioners tomorrow, Wednesday, November 28th at 3:00. Yes, this is an open meeting and I'm sure a number of developers will be in attendance... so if you can make it, please do.

...according to an article in the Washington Post. I say...you don't have to be an "expert" to have figured this one out.

EXCERPT

Some scholars are joining parent advocates in questioning whether the education law No Child Left Behind, with its goal of universal academic proficiency, has had the unintended consequence of diverting resources and attention from the gifted.

Proponents of gifted education have forever complained of institutional neglect. Public schools, they say, pitch lessons to the broad middle group of students at the expense of those working beyond their assigned grade. Now, under the federal mandate, schools are trained on an even narrower group: students on the "bubble" between success and failure on statewide tests.

Monday, November 26, 2007

How do we in Charles County fair? Not to shabby if you use the states formula. :)

DROPOUT RATE DEFINITIONThe percentage of students dropping out of school in grades 9 through 12 in a single year. The number and percentage of students who leave school for any reason, except death, before graduation or completion of a Maryland approved educational program and who are not known to enroll in another school or state-approved program during the current school year. The year is defined as July through June and includes students dropping out over the summer and students dropping out of evening high school and other alternative programs.

The dropout rate is computed by dividing the number of dropouts by the total number of students in grades 9 - 12 served by the school.

Note: Students who re-enter school during the same year in which they dropped out of school are not counted as dropouts.

Reported since November 1990: System and State levels.Reported since November 1991: School.

The Board of Education will be attending a legislative breakfast with the county commissioners and delegation on November 29th, 7:30 - 9am, at the Starkey Building. We will be submitting our 2008 package of Legislative Issues. I am requesting input from my constituents (as soon as possible) on legislative issues you would like to have modified, deleted or added. Please click below to view the 2007 Legislative Package that was submitted to the commissioners in 06 to use as a starting point.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Well here they are...AP Test scores broken down by school, by subject. Please click on the link below to view, print, analyze, and provide some feedback. I personally just received them late last night and have not had the opportunity to analyze them. I will refrain from commenting until I do. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

PS. I apologize for the small print, I tried various different methods of uploading these documents on and off all day and now I must start cooking :) You can print the charts or copy, paste and then enlarge. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience.

STILL WORKING TO REMEDY THE CLARITY. IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR OWN COPY (much clearer than the uploaded version), please email me at abell4edu@verizon.net)

Yes I said polyglots. Simply stated, it means multilingual or able to read, write, speak, several languages. After reading the below article, give me your thoughts. We (Charles County) are not building polyglots but we do offer courses in various languages. Is that enough?

EXCERPT

The United States, often fiercely chauvinistic and sometimes outright isolationist, has never considered the ability to speak a foreign language an essential talent. Unlike many Europeans and Asians who learn languages in primary school, most Americans do not get the chance until high school or in the grades just before — at too advanced an age to soak in quirky words and syntax with the nimbleness needed for fluency. That is why traveling Americans resign themselves to speaking menu French or Spanish.

But with an economy that recognizes few geographical borders, and with people from all over the planet becoming our next-door neighbors, more Americans are demanding language instruction earlier in school.

If you click on the link below, it will take you to a page on the College Board site. Next you will type in the school name and it will list AP courses offered in the 2007-08 academic year that are authorized to include the "AP" designation when listed on students' transcripts. These courses were reviewed by the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) as part of the AP Course Audit in 2007.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

As some of you may remember, I was invited to be a blog contributor at the 2007National School Board Association Conference in San Fransisco. The 2008 Conference is scheduled for the end of March in Orlando and I have been invited to be a presenter in a session currently titled "Blogging School District Leaders: Directly Engage Your Community Using the Internet". I have accepted the offer and feel honored and privileged to represent our county at the national level. Thank you for your support.

According to incident statistics submitted to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, of all arrestees involved in incidents occurring at schools, colleges, or universities from 2000 to 2004, 37.7 percent were associated with violent crimes.

The findings are part of the study “Crime in Schools and Colleges: A Study of Offenders and Arrestees Reported via National Incident-Based Reporting System Data” released today by the FBI.

For the study period 2000-2004, there were 17,065,074 crime incidents reported via the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Of these incidents, 558,219, or 3.3 percent, occurred at schools, colleges, or universities (hereafter schools). Based on the data received for the incidents at schools, there were 688,612 offender records (both known and unknown), and 181,468 persons were arrested in connection with the incidents. Further analyses of known characteristics among these incidents revealed the following:

The televised Board Meeting will be replayed on Channel 96 on Wednesdays at 9:00 am and Sundays at 2:00 pm for your viewing enjoyment :)

The below notes are my personal notes and are not intended to be all-inclusive or official minutes for the Board of Education meetings and are provided as a request from my supporters and the general public in a personal effort to be more transparent. Although I have diligently tried to make these notes as unbiased and accurate as possible, I am only human and do make mistakes. Please follow-up for official minutes upon approval. For copies of printed reports presented visit Board Docs.

Public Forum

Female - spoke with Mr. Cunningham prior to public forum. Will hold off on commenting at this time because Cunningham offered to work on issues relayed in an email to the Board.

Male - Rethink high school schedules for better economy. Pilot program for Stone, Westlake, and North Point on a student volunteer basis. Have one school start at 7:30 and then have the same school start another session of high school courses at 2:30 or 3:00. Allow one school to offer year round school. The third school would have a traditional schedule.

Wise - CogAT doesn't show creative side. Teacher recommendation comes in? What if a child is good at Art...what is the plan?

Estep - Yes...teacher or parent referral and as for a plan, we are not at that stage yet.

Cook - worried about pressure with tagging students

Pedersen - Middle school students picked up by parents and transported to high school math class...Do you this trend increasing or offering more at home school. Some students aren't mature enough to be in the high school environment

Abell - Reason for change in presentation from previous years? In prior years the past Legislative Positions were given to the Board...board and staff worked on revising. View 2007 Legislative Positions HERE. Requested reason for omitted legislative positions.

Schwartz - Staff recommendation. Not trying to tell the Board its position. Sex Education - directly in conflict with legislative position on curriculum mandates. Student Attendance - didn't reflect any interest in Annapolis. Board may want to consider other options. Litigation Matters - Ditto. Recall Charles County Elected Officials - not an issue any more.

Monday, November 12, 2007

If Congress doesn't get the job done, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings says she'll consider using her authority to require states to report high school graduation rates in a more uniform and accurate way.

"I think we need some truth in advertising," Spellings said in an interview, referring to the hodgepodge of ways states now report graduation data.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Just wanted to remind everyone there is a Board Meeting Tuesday, November 13th.Can't attend...you can watch it live on Channel 96. It will also be re-broadcast on Wednesday at 9:00 am and Sunday at 2:00 pm.

Friday, November 09, 2007

Below are two questions posed in another thread concerning AP classes and staff responses.

Are all AP teachers certified by College Board?

There is no AP teacher certification. However, all CCPS teachers have completed the audit with success with very few exceptions. Those few are still under review. They were submitted on time; however, the College Board hires reviewers such as college professors who are not always prompt in completing their review duties. For example, schools submitted that exact same syllabus for a course; some of the schools were authorized immediately, some are still waiting. Once the submitted syllabus is approved the teacher is authorized to teach the course. CCPS also ask all teachers to attend a College Board endorsed week-long summer institute for their course before they teach the class. There are a few exceptions at times, such as when a teacher is hired after the school year begins or has a conflict with training dates in the summer. In those cases, we try to find workshops during the year to support the teacher, provide support through the content specialist and other country AP teachers, and send the teacher to a summer training the next year.

What are the AP audit criteria?

The criteria are determined by the College Board and vary by AP Course. In general, the criteria included the AP syllabus containing information on what will be taught in the course, how the course is organized (thematic, chronological, etc), the skills the course addresses, assignments, required readings, essays, etc, the textbook used, instructional materials used beyond the textbook, etc. The syllabus must show “clear and explicit evidence that fully satisfies” each course’s requirements.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

The schematic design for the new high school will be presented the board and discussed at the next meeting (12/11/07). Due to the size of this document, it cannot be placed on BoardDocs. I have my one hard copy available for the public to view. I would love for members of the general public, businesses, organizations (especially arts related) to take a look at these and provide me with feedback and/or questions you would like posed. Please contact me via email abell4edu@verizon.net and we can arrange a time for you to come by (LaPlata) and look through these documents.

A memorial fund has been started to assist the victims families with expenses. If you feel so inclined, please make checks payable Lifestream and in the memo field write LPHS Accident Victims Fund. Please mail to the below address...

La Plata High School plans to hold a candlelight vigil Friday, Nov. 9, in honor and in memory of four students who died Tuesday evening in an automobile accident on Oliver Shop Road in Dentsville.A student memorial committee is planning the vigil, which will be held between 5-5:30 p.m. in front of the school at the memorial garden. Following the vigil, La Plata will host its last football game of the season. Players plan to wear black armbands and a moment of silence will be held in remembrance of the four young men.The four students, Jonathan Chapman, 16, of La Plata, Tavonne Alston, 16, of La Plata, Dionnte Swinson, 15, of La Plata, and Donte Segar, 15, of Hughesville, died from injuries they sustained in the accident. A fifth teen, Markus Allen, 17, of La Plata, was injured in the accident and remains at Prince George's Hospital Center, where he is expected to recover.An emergency crisis team, composed of psychologists, counselors and pupil personnel workers, were at La Plata on Thursday when students returned to school. The media center was available for students to meet with professionals and members of the team went to each of the young men's classes to speak with students.After-school activities, with the exception of sports, were cancelled Thursday afternoon.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

The televised meeting will be replayed on Channel 96 on Wednesday, 11/7 at 9:00 am and Sunday,11/11 at 2:00 pm for your viewing enjoyment :)

The below notes are my personal notes and are not intended to be all-inclusive or official minutes for the Board of Education meetings and are provided as a request from my supporters and the general public in a personal effort to be more transparent. Although I have diligently tried to make these notes as unbiased and accurate as possible, I am only human and do make mistakes. Please follow-up for official minutes upon approval. For copies of printed reports presented visit Board Docs.

Teacher Preperation Program (Keith Hettel, CCPS)

See handouts

most of -our out-of-state teachers come from Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, and upper New York

Reasons for teacher turnover...cost of living, new school and growth, retirement bubble

Number of teachers needed per each new school...Elem = 30, Middle = 60, High = 130-150

Mathematics is our most critical area because ...career change for more money, competition with other systems, stress of testing

Most teacher graduates come from Towson for in-state

05/06 school year - 54.1% new hires were first year teachers. OUt of that 17.9% were from MD and 56.2% were from out-of-state

Wise - suggests tuition waiver in exchange for 2-3 years teaching in state

Tim Keating (CSM) - expects this to be proposed at state level within the next year

Math Articulation agreement in process for Finite Program. College credit to be given. Taught in high school by CCPS teacher/CSM professor.

5 CSM teaching students "assist" 3 days a week at Diggs

Gottfried - Suggest a program he would like to start where all CCPS 5th grade students would tour CSM for a day and discuss opportunities and careers to promote students to continue on for a higher education.

Monday, November 05, 2007

Suspensions in Charles County Public Schools decreased during the 2006-07 school year, according to a recent report sent to the Maryland State Department of Education. Suspensions dropped slightly from 5,866 in the 2005-06 school year to 5,662 despite an increase in student population and the opening of a new school.

Charles County Public Schools continues to implement programs to help promote positive behavior and alternatives to out-of-school suspensions. Keith Grier, director of student services, said the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program, which was introduced in 1999, has grown in the county and is working. PBIS is a voluntary state program that helps schools create better school climates, spend less time on discipline and more time on teaching and learning. There are 30 Charles County schools participating in the program, and many of them have been awarded as Exemplar by the Maryland State Department of Education.

Additionally, Grier said some schools are using a suspension diversion program coordinated through the Department of Juvenile Justice to allow students found in violation of less serious rules to work at the school over the weekend rather than be suspended. One example is student assistance in cleaning stadiums after football games. Additionally, several high schools have Saturday detention, also in lieu of suspension. Many schools use in-school suspension to allow a student to remain in school, away from the classroom, but still completing assigned work for the day. Grier said the school system is also looking at a secondary school mediation program as another intervention to reduce suspensions and time out of school.

Charles County continues to broaden its alternative programs, primarily at the Robert D. Stethem Educational Center. These programs are for students whose behavior makes it difficult for them to fit into or remain in school-based classrooms. The Stethem Center staff is piloting a prevention program at Theodore Davis, Matthew Henson and John Hanson middle schools to help students change disruptive habits so they can avoid behavior that leads to suspension.

"The goal is not to reduce suspensions, but to use data to put in place programs that help students change behaviors that lead to suspension," said Deputy Superintendent Ronald Cunningham. He added that the Student Code of Conduct is distributed at the beginning of the year to all students and parents with the expectation that they will read it and re-enforce the rules at home. Some offenses, Cunningham said, will always result in suspension, such as possession of weapon or illegal drugs or participating in gang activity at school.

Saturday, November 03, 2007

The Charles County Board of Education and the College of Southern Maryland Board of Trustees are meeting Nov. 6, 5-7 p.m., at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building on Radio Station Road in La Plata. The meeting will be aired live on Comcast Channel 96 and rebroadcast at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 7 and 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 11.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Second and fifth grade students in CCPS will take the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) during the week of November 13th. This test will be used as one of several screening tools to identify students in need of gifted education services for the 2008-2009 school year and to assist classroom teachers in making instructional decisions for their students this school year.

The CogAT is used nationally, as well as by several Maryland counties, as a tool in the identification of academically gifted students. It has been found to be especially helpful in finding students who may not show up on measures of academic achievement alone. In addition, the CogAT provides instructional information for classroom teachers. Teachers can review their students' test results to plan instruction that meets the needs of the specific types of learners in their class.

A parent report created by Riverside Publishers will be sent home for each student who takes to CogAT. The report will provide a score for each sub test, a composite score, and information about your child's results.

If you have any questions, please contact the gifted education resource teacher at your child's school.---------------In addition, I found this link helpful and informational Riverside Publishing.

ABOUT ME

"I will serve as an educational advocate on behalf of our community in order to advance the educational vision for our schools, pursue its goals, and encourage progress as we work together in a diverse society."

My Pledge To You

"I will serve as an educational advocate on behalf of our community in order to advance the educational vision for our schools, pursue its goals, and encourage progress as we work together in a diverse society."

All posts prior to November 4, 2014 are by authority of Charles Alan Denman, Treasurer